Press reports say only 70 Saudi women are standing in municipal elections in December, and as few as one in twenty have registered to vote. Activists say a driving ban is among the hurdles facing women.

Ahmad Mughassil, a Saudi member of Hezbollah, was reportedly detained in Beirut and handed over to authorities in Saudi Arabia, but details remain fuzzy. A US court indictment named him as the architect of the 1996 Khobar Towers attack.